Speakers

On April 8th, Donald M. Wilkinson, ’61, spoke to the cadets at the Roberts Lecture Series. Mr. Wilkinson, who has been the chairman of Wilkinson O’Grady & Company, a registered investment advisory firm, shared his thought on the causes of the current financial crisis. Mr. Wilkinson was co-chairman of the VMI "Capital Campaign", member of the VMI Investment Committee (1989-1998), Trustee of the VMI Foundation (1988-1996), and member of the Institute Society. Since 1999, he has been a member of the VMI Board of Visitors and since 2002, Overseer of the Jackson Hope-Fund

In addition, the departments’ two honor societies, ODE and SBD, brought a duo of speakers to post. On February 11, Dr. Goldsmith, the Jackson T. Stephen Professor of Economics, at Washington & Lee University gave a talk to EC/BU majors on whether African American students tend to be disengaged students or not. This ODE (International Honor Society for Economics) sponsored talk was directed towards all EC/BU majors and was extremely well received.

On February 16, James Maurer came to VMI to speak with Cadets about his road to success in the business world. As a graduate of Drexel University, Mr. Maurer worked a variety of jobs before ultimately investing and devoting himself to the family business (Base-X). Mr. Maurer was actively involved in every aspect of Base-X's business operations including: production, financing, accounting, operations management, and sales. His devotion and work ethic allowed Base-X to expand and prosper at both the regional and national level. Mr. Maurer spoke of his business experiences of the past and addressed various aspects of owning and operating a personal/family business. These speakers’ topics were truly enlightening

The VMI experience is framed by relevant education within a military environment. It’s an education that develops character, fosters a lifelong appreciation of physical fitness,engenders a sense of responsibility to others, and cultivates
the ability to master adversity.